CAMBRIDGE LOWER SECONDARY SCIENCE 7: TEACHER’S RESOURCE
Think like a scientist: Making keys to
identify four learners
1 The keys should be assessed according to how
well they work. Look for:
• Choices that offer easy-to-make decisions.
• No more than four choices to make in all.
• A key that works.
2 Learners should try to make at least one
suggestion for improvement. The best
suggestions will be tightly focussed and give
their partner a clear instruction for how they
could improve the key.
Think like a scientist: Writing a key to
identify species of cats
1 The keys should be assessed according to how
well they work. Look for:
• Choices that offer easy-to-make decisions.
• No more than four choices to make in all.
• A key that works.
2 Assess feedback as in Think Like a Scientist
Q2 above. You can also check how well each
learner has responded to their feedback by
looking at any changes they made to their key.
Unit 5 Properties of materials
Topic 5.1 Metals and non-metals
Getting started
Accept any correct answers – the metals may
include those used for door handles (may be
aluminium, steel or brass), window frames,
jewellery, electrical fittings, light fittings.
Accept suggestions as to how these can be recognised
as metals such as feels cold to the touch, shiny.
Questions
1 Accept any ten metals.
2 Gold and silver are used for jewellery because
they are shiny and quite rare, which increases
their value.
3 Copper is useful because it can be made into
wires, it is ductile and is a good conductor of
electricity so it is used for electrical wires.
Cambridge Lower Secondary Science 7 – Mary Jones, Diane Fellowes-Freeman & Michael Smyth
15
Check your progress
4.1 a It can move. It feeds. It respires. It can
sense changes in its environment.
b Any two of: it excretes, it reproduces,
it grows.
4.2 A class arachnids
B class insects
C class insects
D class myriapods
E class crustacea
4.3 a She did not find red-crowned and
yellow-crowned parakeets making nests
together which suggest that they
do not reproduce with each other.
b She should check more pairs of
parakeets in the wild.
4.4 Look for the following points:
There is a series of pairs of statements.
Each pair of statements is a contrasting pair.
Each pair of statements can be used
unambiguously.
There are no more than four pairs of
statements.
4 Malleable: able to be shaped.
Ductile: able to be drawn out into a wire.
5 Olympic medals are made from gold, silver
and bronze.
6 All metals (except aluminium) are found on
the left side of the Periodic Table.
7 Accept any five non-metals other than sulfur
and helium.
8 Sulfur is used to harden rubber.
9 The useful property of helium is that it is
very light.
10 The non-metals are on the right side of the
Periodic Table.
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 CAMBRIDGE LOWER SECONDARY SCIENCE 7: TEACHER’S RESOURCE
Topic 5.2 Comparing metals and
non-metals
Questions
1 Credit any five named objects made from metals.
Credit any five named objects made from
non-metals.
2 Non-metal
3 It is a liquid at room temperature.
4 Conduct electrical energy; conduct heat energy
Topic 5.3 Metal mixtures
Getting started
A is an element because there is only one type of
atom present.
B is a compound because there are two types of
atoms bonded together.
C is a mixture as there are two types of atom but
they are not bonded together.
D is an element as there is only one type of atom
present.
Think like a scientist: Modelling a metal
and an alloy
1 Answers will depend on how successful they are
with the practical task. The bubbles should line
up in rows, but do not encourage learners to
simply give the expected answer at the expense
of observations; in other words, learners should
be credited for writing what they observed.
2 Other bubbles will move to fill the space.
Again, credit what the learners observe.
3 Dependant on what they observe. The
expectation is that the rows of bubbles move
freely and slide across one another.
4 Dependant on what learners observe. The
expectation is that the larger bubble disrupts
the rows, so that the bubbles cannot move
as freely.
Questions
1 An alloy is a mixture of metals.
2 Aluminium is light and easily malleable, which
makes it suitable for building planes.
3 An aluminium alloy is used because
aluminium is not strong enough to withstand
the stresses involved in flight.
Cambridge Lower Secondary Science 7 – Mary Jones, Diane Fellowes-Freeman & Michael Smyth
16
4 24 carat gold has 24 parts out of 24 gold;
there is no other metal present, so it is pure
gold.
5 18 carat gold is an alloy made of 18 parts gold
to 6 parts of another metal, such as silver or
copper; 24 carat gold is pure gold.
6 Pure silver is not used for coins because it
is too expensive and it is not hard enough to
stand up to the damage that is caused when
coins rub against one another in pockets,
purses or vending or counting machines.
7 We don’t use pure copper for our coins because
it is too expensive and too soft. Copper also
reacts with the air and turns green.
8 Any alloy used inside the body, for example
for hip replacements, must be strong and light,
and not react with the body tissues.
9 Some glasses frames are made from shape
memory alloy metal because they can easily be
returned to their original shape by heating, if
they get bent.
10 A range of temperatures is given because there
is more than one type of bronze. These are
made using different proportions of copper and
tin, sometimes other metals are added. Each
different mixture has a different melting point.
11 Credit any correct shared properties, such as:
they are both alloys, have a range of forms
and melting points, both contain copper,
resistant to corrosion.
12 Credit any correct shared properties, such
as: both elements; metals; conduct heat and
electricity.
13 Credit any correct different property, such as:
copper is reddish in colour whereas tin is white;
tin is softer than copper; tin is not as good a
conductor as copper; the melting point of copper
is much higher (1085 °C) than that of tin (232 °C).
Topic 5.4 Using the properties of
materials to separate mixtures
Getting started
Expected answers might be: in a mixture the things
are just mixed up but are still separate. However, in
a compound the substances have joined together.
The point of this exercise is to discuss and share
ideas, and to establish what learners know.
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 CAMBRIDGE LOWER SECONDARY SCIENCE 7: TEACHER’S RESOURCE
Questions
1 The liquid water in the flask is heated and,
as the particles of water have more energy
transferred to them, they begin to move more.
Eventually some are able to overcome the
weak forces that are holding them in place.
The liquid water changes state to become a
gas, which escapes into the condenser.
2 The steam in the condenser moves along the
central tube. The condenser has an outer tube,
through which water from the tap flows and
this cools the condenser. The steam inside the
condenser has heat energy transferred from it
to the water in the outer tube. As the particles
of water in the steam lose energy they cannot
move freely and condense into water.
3 The different properties of water and food
dye used to separate them are their different
boiling temperatures.
Think like a scientist: Separating sandy,
salty water
1 The sand remains because the grains are too
large to pass through the small holes in the
filter paper.
2 This is not a good idea because the wet filter
paper is easily torn. If you stir up the mixture
with a pencil, you are likely to damage the
filter paper and let the contents flow through it.
3 You should wear safety glasses and if the
solution starts to spit you should turn off the
Bunsen burner.
4 You could heat the salty water in a condenser.
5 You could wash the salt using clean water,
filter using finer filter paper and then evaporate
again. You could repeat this several times.
Think like a scientist: Separating two
solids
1 The salt will dissolve in water, but the carbon
will not.
2 Safety glasses, beaker, conical flask, filter
funnel, filter paper, evaporating basin, pipe
clay triangle, tripod, Bunsen burner, heat-
proof mat, stirring rod, tongs. Accept other
suitable apparatus.
3 Accept logical steps that will work, such as:
Mix the salt and carbon with water and stir.
Filter the mixture. Place the filtered liquid
Cambridge Lower Secondary Science 7 – Mary Jones, Diane Fellowes-Freeman & Michael Smyth
17
into an evaporating basin. Heat with a
Bunsen burner until the solution starts to spit.
Turn off the heat. Leave to cool and for the
remaining water to evaporate.
4 Wear safety glasses. Take care while the
solution is heating as it may spit. Move the
evaporating basin with tongs.
Topic 5.5 Acids and alkalis
Questions
1 Citrus fruits, tomatoes. Accept drinks such as
cola and coffee.
2 They taste sour.
3 Corrosive means that it will dissolve your
clothing and skin and cause chemical burns.
4 If you spill acid you should wash the area with
lots of water.
Topic 5.6 Indicators and the
pH scale
Questions
1 The indicator turns one colour in an acid and
a different colour in an alkali.
2 Red cabbage indicator turns red in lemon
juice.
3 It turns blue.
4 Red
5 Water is neutral. I know this because litmus in
water is neither red nor blue, it is purple.
6 How acidic or alkaline a substance is.
7 pH 7
8 It is a strong acid.
9 pH 12 to 14
10 Blue
11 Red, orange or yellow
Check your progress
5.1 Metals are shiny when freshly cut or polished.
They are strong and if you tap them they ring
like a bell. Metals conduct heat energy and
electricity. Metals are malleable, which means
they can be beaten into shape.They are ductile,
which means they can be drawn out into wires.
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 CAMBRIDGE LOWER SECONDARY SCIENCE 7: TEACHER’S RESOURCE

5.2 a Silver coins are not made of pure silver the glass will not. He may be able to pour off
because they would be too expensive, and some of the liquid into another beaker leaving
would wear quickly due to their softness. some of the pieces of glass behind. The mixture
of glass and blue liquid should be filtered. The
b In a pure metal the atoms line up in glass fragments will be left in the filter paper.
regular rows, side-by-side and one on top of Marcus should be careful handling this. The
another. This means that when the metal is blue liquid that comes through the filter paper
hit the rows can move across one another. should be placed in an evaporating basin
In an alloy particles of a different size are and heated. The Bunsen burner should be
mixed with the pure metal so the particles turned down once the liquid starts to boil and
in the rows are not all the same and the turned off once it starts to spit to prevent him
pattern is disrupted. When the alloy is hit getting burnt. The evaporating basin should
the rows cannot slide across one another in be left for a few days so that all the water can
the same way. Credit a diagram to help the evaporate. The evaporating basin should only
explanation. be moved using the tongs.
5.3 a i Is ductile or conducts electricity. 5.5 a An indicator
ii It is shiny or expensive. b Red
iii It is strong. c Purple
iv It conducts heat well, it is strong, 5.6 a The driver places warning notices
it does not rust. nearby so that everyone knows what
b Any three, such as those below. (The is being delivered and that means
important issue is that the feature of they will know at once how to treat
both the metal and the non-metal must it if there is an accident.
be mentioned.) b The area of the spill could be covered
• Metals are solid at room with lots of water to dilute the acid so
temperature, but many that it causes less harm.
non-metals are gases.
5.7 a
• Metals are shiny, but non-metals Melting Tally Boiling Tally
are dull. point in °C point in °C
• Metals are malleable and do not up to 0 ||| up to 0 ||
shatter, but non-metals are brittle. 0 to 499 ||| 0 to 999 |||
• Metals are ductile, but non-metals 500 to 999 | 1000 to |
are not. 1999
• Metals conduct heat energy 1000 to ||| 2000 to ||||
well, but non-metals do not. 1499 2999
• Metals conduct electricity b For each graph:
well, but non-metals do not. • Use of sharp pencil, ruler and
5.4 Equipment he will need: dustpan and brush, general presentation
thick rubber gloves, safety glasses, filter paper, • Accuracy of the plots
filter funnel, beaker, conical flask, evaporating
basin, tripod, pipe clay triangle, Bunsen c Oxygen and helium
burner, tongs. d Mercury
Marcus should put on the gloves and safety e Gold, lead, copper, aluminium, nickel,
glasses, and use the dustpan and brush to pick sulfur and sodium
up the glass and copper sulfate crystals from
the floor. He should carefully pick out the f Helium
larger pieces of glass. Then he should put the g Gold
glass and copper sulfate crystals into a beaker
of water. The copper sulfate will dissolve but

Cambridge Lower Secondary Science 7 – Mary Jones, Diane Fellowes-Freeman & Michael Smyth
18 © Cambridge University Press 2021
 CAMBRIDGE LOWER SECONDARY SCIENCE 7: TEACHER’S RESOURCE
Unit 6 Earth physics
Topic 6.1 Sound waves
Getting started
1 Things such as: aircraft, explosions, power
tools, public-address systems, large crowds
cheering, thunder, dogs barking.
2 Things such as: whispering, walking on carpet,
insects flying, cats purring, people or animals
breathing.
3 Sounds such as babies crying, car alarms, whistles,
birds cheeping, wheels or hinges squeaking.
4 Sounds such as thunder, bass musical
instruments, animals growling, large road
vehicles, aircraft.
Questions
1 B
2 A
3 Vibration of the wings
4 Sound travels through air as a sound wave.
5 C
6 Vibration of particles in air (caused by the
thunder).
7 Vibrations are very small, so sounds are very
quiet or too quiet to hear.
8 A, B, C
9 Vacuum on the Moon. No particles; sound
waves cannot travel without particles.
10 You would not hear an explosion in space.
Space is a vacuum and sound waves cannot
travel in a vacuum.
Activity: Modelling sound waves
1 Away from the moving hand
2 No. Only the wave / vibrations
3 Backwards and forwards along the line of the
wave direction or along the line of the spring.
4 Movement
Cambridge Lower Secondary Science 7 – Mary Jones, Diane Fellowes-Freeman & Michael Smyth
19
Think like a scientist: Sound and
vibration
1 The string
2 Sound heard louder/more clearly when string
was tight than when string was slack.
3 The sound was stopped or reduced in loudness.
4 No difference
5 The string must vibrate to carry the sound
(wave); the sound wave makes the string vibrate.
6 Make a recording of the voice and play back at
the same loudness each time, or suggested use of
any other sound source that can be controlled.
Topic 6.2 Reflections of sound
Getting started
Learners could draw a diagram of the slinky
spring showing compression and stretching.
Alternatively, learners could draw a series of
double headed arrows aligned end-to-end.
For the challenge part, learners could use phrases,
such as pushing and pulling, compressing and
stretching, particles getting closer and further apart.
Questions
1 C
2 B
3 Fewer echoes in B; curved surfaces in B
4 C
5 Distance = 1500 × 0.2 = 300m
___300
​​  2   ​​ = 150 metres
Activity: Modelling echo location
1 The food/prey/named animal
2 a 
The mirror reflects the light just as the
food reflects the sound; the reflections
can be seen; the reflections can be used to
locate the mirror.
b Light is not the same as sound; the mirror
does not move as the food would move; the
bat or dolphin hears the reflected sound
with less loudness and we cannot do this
with light; we need to move the light source
around to judge the distance to the mirror.
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 CAMBRIDGE LOWER SECONDARY SCIENCE 7: TEACHER’S RESOURCE
Think like a scientist: How is sound
reflected?
1 The angle between the tubes and the reflected
surface is equal. As the angle between the
sound source tube and the surface increases,
so does the angle of the other tube.
2 Reference to hard, smooth surfaces giving
better reflections or soft, rough surfaces giving
poorer reflections.
3 Glass, tile, metal, wood (good)
Fabric, sponge (bad)
Topic 6.3 Structure of the Earth
Getting started
The aim is to find out what learners think
rather than obtaining a factually correct answer.
Diagrams could vary from a solid object with no
layers, to a hollow object, to a solid object with
any number of layers.
Questions
1 Core
2 Iron, nickel
3 Oxygen
4 Aluminium
5 The shapes of the continents fit together; the
types of rocks on the different continents
match up where they fit together; the fossils on
the different continents match up where they
fit together.
6 Because he could not explain how continental
drift occurred.
7 Answer can be determined from the map in
the Learner’s Book.
8 The tectonic plates move on liquid magma.
Activity: Drifting plates
1 a The tectonic plates
b Heat from the Earth’s core
c Magma or the mantle
2 Strengths: movement of the polystyrene is caused
by heat; movement can be seen in a short time.
Limitations: tectonic plates are not small and
light; tectonic plates do not move on water;
movement of tectonic plates is much slower.
Cambridge Lower Secondary Science 7 – Mary Jones, Diane Fellowes-Freeman & Michael Smyth
20
Topic 6.4 Changes in the Earth
Getting started
1 Similarities: a volcano is sometimes a type of
mountain, both are made from rock, both are
higher than surrounding ground level, both
have a base and a highest point.
2 Differences: mountains are not active or
do not erupt, volcanoes have lava/magma,
volcanoes have a crater or openings.
Questions
1 B
2 Plates push against each other; rocks are
pushed upward at the boundary.
3 C
4 Forces on tectonic plates; build-up of force or
pressure; sudden movement.
Activity: Model for moving tectonic
plates
1 Model A – the cloth wrinkled and was pushed
up into folds.
Model B – one piece of paper slid over/under the
other; when the pieces of paper made contact
edge-to-edge, the pieces bent and formed a
curve; the paper was raised up from the surface.
Model C – the modelling clay was distorted/
compressed and folded upward.
Model D – the outer part of the chocolate
cracked and the soft inner part came out; the
cracked parts were pushed upward.
2 Model A – formation of fold mountains.
Model B – first part: subduction/one tectonic
plate moving under another; second part:
formation of fold mountains.
Model C – formation of fold mountains.
Model D – earthquake (when the chocolate
breaks); formation of volcanoes (when the soft
centre comes out); formation of fold mountains.
3 Model A – strength of this model is the
flexibility of the cloth allowing folding to occur
easily. One limitation is that one piece of cloth
represents two different tectonic plates.
Model B – strength of this model is the two
pieces of paper represent two tectonic plates.
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 CAMBRIDGE LOWER SECONDARY SCIENCE 7: TEACHER’S RESOURCE
One limitation is that paper is too stiff to fold
like the cloth in model A.
Model C – flexibility of the modelling clay is
the strength of this model.
Model D – strength of this model is the ability
to represent both the solid crust (the chocolate)
and the liquid magma (the soft centre).
4 Model A – use two pieces of cloth.
Model B – any way of increasing friction
between the two pieces of paper, or increasing
contact at the edges, such as crumpling and then
straightening out again to introduce wrinkles.
Model C – place a lower friction surface under
the modelling clay to represent the mantle.
Model D – possible reference to warming or
cooling the chocolate depending on how well
the activity worked, given the temperature of
the classroom.
5 Model D is best because it models all three
phenomena: fold mountains, earthquakes and
volcanoes.
Topic 6.5 Solar and lunar eclipses
Getting started
1 In straight lines
2 When an opaque object blocks light, light
shines past the sides of the object and a darker
area, which is the shadow, forms on another
object (such as the ground or a wall) where the
light has been blocked.
3 The Moon gives out its own light – false
The Sun gives out its own light – true
Questions
1 C
2 B
3 A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes
in front of the Sun; the Sun can only ever be
seen in the daytime.
4 False; for the shadow of the Earth to be seen
passing across the Moon, the observer must
be at a point on Earth furthest away from the
Sun; it will be night time in this position.
Activity: Classroom eclipses
1 The side of the Earth facing towards the lamp/
Sun is in the day and the side of the Earth facing
away from the lamp/Sun is in the night.
Cambridge Lower Secondary Science 7 – Mary Jones, Diane Fellowes-Freeman & Michael Smyth
21
2 A solar eclipse
3 There is a total eclipse where the shadow on
the Earth is darkest and a partial eclipse on
the Earth where the shadow is lightest.
4 A lunar eclipse
Think like a scientist: Making
predictions about eclipses
1 The date, the time and the place from which it
can be seen.
2 223 × 29.5 = 6578.5
3 They must be in line with each other.
4 Working out the time between events in the past
can be used to predict the times in the future.
5 Observe whether the eclipse actually happens
when predicted.
6 The times will not be exact, so any differences
become increasingly greater further into the
future.
7 Knowing the time interval between eclipses
can allow them to work backwards. The date
in that year when the eclipse occurred must be
the date of the battle.
8 Solar eclipse. The Sun can just be seen behind
the Moon.
Check your progress
6.1 Vibration 
6.2 A sound wave travels from the pen to Sofia’s
ears.
The sound wave travels through the air.
6.3 Arrow drawn as a straight line pointing in
any direction.
Two more opposing arrows or double headed
arrow; parallel to the direction.
6.4 Modelling
6.5 a W–B; X–D; Y–C; Z–A
b Separate parts of the Earth’s crust; that
move on the mantle.
6.6 Earthquakes
6.7 Tectonic plates move together in opposite
directions.
Rocks get pushed upward at the boundary
(of the plates).
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